- Sunday, December 10, 2023
Telephone discussion between the Indian prime minister and Putin also focussed on bilateral ties
By: Chandrashekar Bhat
RUSSIAN president Vladimir Putin discussed the situation around Ukraine and how Moscow had resolved an armed mercenary mutiny in a telephone call with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday (30), the Kremlin said.
It said that Modi had expressed support for what the Kremlin called the Russian leadership’s decisive actions in handling the mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group last Saturday (24).
The two leaders reiterated their commitment to further strengthening the strategic partnership between their countries, the Kremlin said.
“The conversation had a meaningful and constructive character. The leaders reiterated mutual commitment to strengthening privileged strategic partnership between Russia and India and agreed to continue communication.”
Putin informed Modi of Ukraine’s categorical refusal to settle the conflict through diplomacy, the Kremlin said.
According to it, the Russian president assessed the current situation in the special military operation zone, pointing to Kiev’s categorical refusal to take political and diplomatic steps to resolve the conflict.
They also discussed their countries’ cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the G20, it said.
India has been urging both Russia and Ukraine to hold discussions to end their conflict.
Modi told Putin last year that “it’s not an era of war”, a stance the Indian leader reiterated during his recent visit to the US.
India, however, has not explicitly condemned what Moscow called its ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine. New Delhi has ramped up its import of Russian oil since the start of the conflict.
(With inputs from agencies)
